Buckeyes Have Stranglhold on Top 25

By The Associated Press

Ohio State tightened its hold on No. 1. Coming off another decisive victory over a ranked opponent, the Buckeyes received a season-high 62 first-place votes in The Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday.

Ohio State, No. 1 since the preseason, had 1,622 points in the media poll after beating Iowa 38-17 on Saturday.

With none of the teams in the top 10 losing last week, the first 10 spots in the poll were unchanged. No. 2 was Auburn followed by Southern California, West Virginia, Florida and Michigan at No. 6.

Auburn received one first-place, down one from last week, and West Virginia got two-first place votes. USC, which had two first-place votes in last week's Top 25, had none in the latest poll.

Auburn, which escaped with a 24-17 win at South Carolina last Thursday, increased its lead on USC by six points to 28. The Trojans also had a close call on the road, beating Washington State 28-22. Auburn beat Washington State at home 40-14 to open the season.

Texas, LSU, Louisville and Georgia rounded out the top 10.

Two of the Southeastern Conference's four top 10 teams will meet Saturday, when No. 5 Florida hosts No. 9 LSU.

In the USA Today coaches' poll, No. 1 Ohio State was followed by USC at No. 2 and Auburn at No. 3. West Virginia was fourth and Florida fifth.

In the Harris poll, Ohio State, USC and Auburn took the top three spots. Michigan followed at No. 4 and West Virginia and Florida are tied for fifth.

The Harris and coaches' polls are used in the Bowl Championship Series standings, along with computer rankings. The first BCS standings of the season will be released Oct. 15.

Iowa and Virginia Tech were the only ranked teams to lose on Saturday. Their first setbacks of the season sent the Hawkeyes and Hokies tumbling in the poll.

Virginia Tech took the biggest plunge, falling 10 spots to No. 21 after a 38-27 loss at home to Georgia Tech. The victory helped the Yellow Jackets move up six spots to No. 18, their highest ranking since early in the 2005 season.

Iowa dropped six spots to No. 19 after losing at home to the Buckeyes.

Previously unbeaten TCU, which was No. 17 last week and riding a 13-game winning streak that was the nation's longest, fell out of the latest rankings. The Horned Frogs were beaten 31-17 at home by BYU last Thursday night.

Oregon leads off the second 10 with Notre Dame at No. 12, followed by Tennessee, Oklahoma and Clemson. No. 16 is California and Florida State is 17th, followed by Georgia Tech and Iowa.

Undefeated Boise State (5-0) is No. 20, just ahead of Virginia Tech and Nebraska. Two more 5-0 teams follow with Missouri at No. 23 and Rutgers at No. 24. Boston College, which has been in and out of the poll, is back in at No. 25.


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